And he warned that Birmingham’s failure was holding back the entire West Midlands, with both government and the private sector preferring to invest in the “Northern Powerhouse” in the north of England instead.

“It’s not fair to the people of Birmingham, because there’s real concern about whether Birmingham can fully discharge its statutory duties to vulnerable people, be they the elderly or children.

“And it’s also costing us dear now in competition with other parts of the country, like the Northern Powerhouse.”

“The dysfunctionality of governance in Birmingham is something for which the whole region is paying a high price.”

Birmingham would have ten new borough councils

How it would look: Andrew Mitchell's proposal to create ten borough councils in Birmingham

Under Mr Mitchell’s proposals, ten borough or district councils would each have 12 councillors. They would take responsibility for planning, environmental services, setting council tax and more.

A stripped down city council would still exist, but it would have no more than 40 councillors - compared to 120 today - and its role would be strictly limited to a few services such as waste collection.

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Government to decide city's fate in January

Birmingham is nearing the end of a lengthy attempt to force through improvements which began when the Government commissioned an inquiry by former senior civil servant Lord Kerslake.

Ministers were concerned about the city’s failing children’s services, Birmingham’s massive financial liabilities and the Trojan Horse affair, when there were claims that religious hardliners had attempted to take over some city schools.

And Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has asked the panel to tell him in January whether the council is capable of improving on its own, or whether the Government needs to take action.

In a letter to Mr Crabtree on November 5, Mr Clark said: “I welcome your promise of a further update in early January . . . at that point I will be particularly interested in your views on how effectively the leadership is working with the Panel, and your judgement on whether the Council has made adequate progress, or whether further measures will need to be taken.”

"We’ve tested to destruction whether Birmingham in its present condition can deliver, and it can’t."

Andrew Mitchell said: “We need a wholly different approach to the governance of Birmingham and it needs to devolve far more power locally, and accountability too.

“And although there are a number of possible models, the model I would submit is a new model based on the individual constituencies in Birmingham, who would be responsible for as much local government as possible.”

London has a number of “borough councils” which each raise their own council tax, and the new Birmingham councils would operate in a similar way, he said.

“Just as happens in London at the moment, you would disaggregate the powers and then they would be responsible for raising their funds. You’d give as much financial autonomy to the ten district councils as you possibly could.”

He added: “This gives back to Erdington a local status, to Ladywood, to different parts of Birmingham.

“We’ve tested to destruction whether Birmingham in its present condition can deliver, and the answer is it can’t.

“It’s not fair on the people, it’s not fair on the councillors, it’s not fair on council staff. They are lumbered with a system which does not work. And it’s got to be addressed.”

The West Midlands is being "left behind" and Birmingham is to blame

The West Midlands region is being left behind, and the failure of Birmingham City Council is partly to blame, he said.

“We are being left behind on every level, in terms of delivering on these core statutory duties to vulnerable people but also in terms of an economic powerhouse which drives up the quality of business and economic investment across the Midlands and attracts investors.

“A lot of this investment is going elsewhere and we have to make sure it comes to its natural home, which in my view is Birmingham and the West Midlands.”

Mr Mitchell insisted that his proposal would have support across the political spectrum - and in central government.

“We have had enough. We have absolutely had enough now.

“There will be Tories and Labour and Lib Dems who strongly agree with this, and there will be some who don’t.

“There is a groundswell of support for these sorts of ideas, and that is being echoed in government.”